Posted: Nov 22, 2023

Late game struggles for Men's Basketball leads to overtime loss to Conestoga

Conestoga

(4-5, 4-5)

106

Humber

(4-4, 4-4)

Final

Conestoga (4-5, 4-5)

106

Humber (4-4, 4-4)

By: William Shoukri
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE - Humber men's basketball (4-4, 3^rd West) fell to Conestoga (4-5, 6^th West) 106-97 in overtime Wednesday evening at home. The Hawks had a 15-point lead at the half but were unable to stop a late fourth-quarter push by the Condors. Taujh Motiki-Stephens led the Hawks in scoring with a career-high 18 points. The second-year forward added 11 rebounds to secure his first career double-double. Jalen Menzies added 18 points, as well, while Kyle Brown-Fazekas finished with 12 points.

Game Recap

The Hawks set the tone early in this one with Jayar Harewood collecting three huge consecutive blocks. The Condors would still have the edge offensively though, going up halfway through the quarter. The Hawks would start to take advantage of the Condors' lacklustre defence and push back though. The Hawks would lead the game after the first quarter 25-18. Taujh Motiki-Stephens led the way for the Hawks with seven points.

Motiki-Stephens continued to be the story for the Hawks as he led the way offensively. Conestoga start to close the gap on Humber but a Jalen Menzies steal followed by a Kyle Brown-Fazekas would force the Condors to call a timeout. The timeout would only serve to swing momentum even further in favour of Humber though as the Hawks started an offensive onslaught. Up nine, Jayar Harewood would get the bench rolling with a crazy put-back dunk. Just two possessions later, Adrian Aluyi would get the gym shaking with a contested jumper, collecting the bucket and the foul. The Hawks would go into halftime with a 15-point lead, up 55-40.

Both teams came out hard in the second half, playing tough, physical defence. The Condors started to cut Humber's lead down but the Hawks would hold on strong and keep distance between them and Conestoga. The Hawks relied on their depth scoring to keep them ahead of the Condors. Ten different Hawks had baskets through three quarters. Jalen Menzies and Taujh Motiki-Stephens led the Hawks with 16 and 15 points respectively. The third would end 72-60 in favour of Humber.

Both teams stayed defensive in the fourth, relying on fast breaks and perimeter defence to get their buckets. The Hawks' offense would start to cool midway through the quarter and the Condors would bear down and go on a 10-0 run to bring the game within two. Humber would manage to respond with a bucket to end the run but with the score 87-83 with just over two remaining the game was up for grabs.

With the game on the line, Humber was looking for offence from anyone. The Condors would close the gap to 87-85 and force Humber to take a timeout with 45 seconds left. Conestoga would tie the game on the next possession and the teams would trade baskets to end the fourth quarter 89-89 and send the game to overtime.

Humber started with possession in the five-minute overtime quarter but would only manage to score a free throw. After the teams traded buckets, the Hawks would make errors on both ends of the court and Conestoga would leave with the win, 106-97.